• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.8 s.253
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• pp.564-569
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• 2005

Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare malignant disease with sparse data for treatment and prognosis. We intended to investigate the prognostic factors of thymic carcinoma. Material and Method: Data of 42 patients, who were diagnosed and treated for thymic carcinoma from January of 1986 to August of 2003 were reviewed retrospectively. Influences of characteristics of patients, Masaoka stage, histologic grade, completeness of resection and adjuvant treatment on survival were evaluated. Result: There were 30 male and 12 female patients and their mean age was $52.0\pm15.7$ years old. There were 28 patients with low-grade histology and 13 patients with high-grade histology. Clinical stage according to Masaoka stage were I in 2, II in 2, III in 15 $(35.7\%)$, IVa in 10 $(23.8\%),\;and\;IVb\;in\;13\;(31\%)$ patients. Surgical resection was done in 22 patients, Complete resection was possible in 13 patients and incomplete resection was done in 9 patients. Among 20 patients without resection, 8 patients received chemotherapy, 7 patients received radiotherapy and 5 patients received combined therapy. Median survival time was $31.7\pm6.1$ months and 5 year survival rate was $28.5\%$. High grade histology (hazard ratio=3.009, $95\%\;confidence\;interval=1.178\sim7.685,$ p=0.021) and incompleteness of resection (hazard ratio=3.605, $95\%$ confidence interval= $1.1541\sim1.580$, p=0.023) were the prognostic factors of thymic carcinoma. Conclusion: In thymic carcinoma, low grade histology is a good prognostic factor and complete resection can prolong the survival of patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.73-78
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• 1996

From June 1989 to May 1994, 23 patients with myasthenia gravis underwent thymectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Asan Medical Center. For the evaluation of the effect of thymectomy, clinical analysis including age and sex distribution, preoperative disease severity, duration of the symptoms, thymic pathology, and postoperative clinical improvement was performed. The mean follow-up period was 15 mon hs(range : 5∼60mon1hs). The effectiveness of thymectomy according to the postoperative symptoms and drug dose was graded as follow : a) complete remission in 5 cases (21.7%), b) clinical improvement with dose reduction in II cases (47.9%), c) clinical improvement without dose reduction in 3 cases(13.0%), 4) unchanged in 2 cases (8.8%), e) early death in 1 case(4.3%) and f) recurrence in 1 case(4.3%). According to the preoperative disease stage by Modified Osserman classification, 6(66.7%) of the 9 patients in stage I and 13 (92.9%) of 14 patients in stage II were clinically improved after thymectomy. although there was no significant statistical differences between these two groups (p> 0.05). According to the thymic pathology, 4 (100%) of 4 cases with normal thymus were clinically improved. Ten (90.9%) of 11 cases with thymic hyperplasia and 5 (62.5%) of 8 cases with thymoma were clinically improved, but there was no significant statistical differences in these three groups (p> 0.05 . The thymectomy resulted in dramatic clinical improvement in 19 (82.5%) out of 23 patients. According to the preoperative disease stage by Modified Osserman classification or the thymic pathology, there was no significant statistical differeneces in the effect of thyinectomy (p> 0.05).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.7 s.87
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• pp.923-930
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• 2007

Thymus can regenerate to its normal mass within 14 days after acute involution induced by cyclophosphamide (CY) in adult rat. Despite the established role of Wnt pathways in the process of thymus development, they have not yet been associated with the regeneration of adult thymus. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Wnt7b, which is expressed in developing thymic epithelial cells rather than in thymocytes, is modulated during thymic regeneration in adult rat. Here, we show that Wnt7b expression was up-regulated in the regenerating thymus. Cells immunolabeled for the Wnt7b were identified as macrophages. Furthermore, Wnt7b gene expression was decreased by the treatment of receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL). Taken together, our results demonstrate that Wnt7b gene expression was increased in macrophages during thymic regeneration and negatively regulated by RANKL.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.4
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• pp.347-351
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• 2011

We report here an unusual case of pericardial tuberculoma that was misdiagnosed as thymic carcinoma on an imaging study. A 48-year-old woman was referred for evaluation of an anterior mediastinal mass. Computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest displayed cystic masses mimicking thymic carcinoma at the anterior mediastinum. Pericardiotomy and surgical drainage of the cystic masses were done, and pathologic examination of the excised pericardial specimen showed a chronic granulomatous inflammation with necrosis, compatible with tuberculosis. Acid-fast bacilli were also identified in the specimen. After treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs and steroids, the patient showed clinical improvement. Although tuberculous pericarditis usually presents as pericardial effusion or constrictive pericarditis, it can also present as a pericardial mass mimicking thymic carcinoma on CT. Therefore, we suggest that tuberculous pericardial abscess should be included in the differential diagnosis of a mediastinal mass in Korea, with intermediate tuberculosis prevalence.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.735-739
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• 1984

Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumor consisting of fat and thymic tissue. Approximately 60 case reports have been published. On 1984, one patient with proven mediastinal thymolipoma was treated surgically at the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular surgery, Seoul National University Hospital. The following case is the first reported example of thymolipoma occurring in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.269-275
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• 1987

Radiation-induced life shortening, carcinogenesis and other pathological changes were investigated in NIH(GP) mice after $^{60}Co-{\gamma}$ ray irradiation(100~700rads). The results were summarized as follows: 1. There were little difference in body weights, hematological examination and other clinical findings between normal and irradiated groups. 2. Mean survival time of the mice after irradiation were decreased dose-dependently. 3. Main gross findings of the mice irradiated were appeared as enlargement of spleen, thymus and lymph nodes, tumorous nodules of lung and cyst of ovary. Especially, enlargement of thymus was promineort in high dose group. 4. Microscopically, there were various findings including myeloid leukemia, thymic lymphoma, lung adenoma, adenosquamous cell carcinoma of pancreas, pneumonia and other pathological changes. Especially thymic lymphoma was highly frequent in the 700 rads group.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.851-856
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• 1995

Thymectomy has played a central role in the management of myasthenia gravis. Although both the etiology of myasthenia gravis and the reason for improvement after thymectomy remain incompletely explained, complete removal of the thymus is the logical goal of surgical treatment for this disease.From April 1989 to June 1994, maximal thymectomy was performed for 19 cases of myasthenia gravis at Chonnam National University Hospital. The results were as follows:1.Among the 19 cases, male-to-female ratio was 1:1.4, the age ranged 13 years to 71 years, and a diphasic presentation appeared with a peak in young females and a second peak in elderly males;2.Five cases were classified by modified Osserman`s classification as Group I and Group IIa and 14 cases as Group IIb and Group IIc; 3.Histologic examination of the excised thymus glands revealed normality in 5 cases [26% , thymic hyperplasia in 4 [21% , benign thymoma in 8 [42% , and malignant thymoma in 2 [11% ;4.There was no operative mortalities but two deaths occurred during the follow-up periods due to myasthenic crisis and other causes;5.The clinical improvement and the complete remission rates were 85% and 32%, respectively;6.The clinical improvement and the complete remission rates were not so good in patients with thymomas, beeing 70% and 20%, respectively; and 7.Young women with hyperplasia of the thymic tissue tended to show the best response to thymectomy.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2005

Carcinoid tumors of the thymus are vanishingly rare, and the characteristic cytologic findings of this condition have never before been reported in Korea. Recently, we encountered a 58-year-old woman who had been suffering from general weakness and weight loss for several months. Radiological imaging revealed a large anterior mediastinal mass. A fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the mass showed predominantly scattered single cells, as well as some loose clusters of small cells with scanty cytoplasm. Some of these small cells exhibited plasmacytoid features, with moderately granular cytoplasm. We also discuss the cytological differential diagnosis between thymic carcinoid and other mediastinal tumors.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.447-451
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• 2015

This report describes the case of a 57-year-old man with an anterior mediastinal tumor. Four years previously, he underwent laparoscopic anterior resection for sigmoid colon cancer. Thirty months after that procedure, bilateral pulmonary metastasectomy was performed. Twelve months later, follow-up computed tomography revealed a 1-cm pulmonary nodule on the upper lobe of the right lung and a solid mass on the anterior mediastinum, and the patient was also observed to have an elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level. Repeated pulmonary nodule resection and total thymectomy were performed. Immunohistochemical staining of the anterior mediastinal tumor revealed adenocarcinoma, and his serum CEA level returned to normal after the operation. These findings strongly suggested metastatic thymic adenocarcinoma from a colorectal cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.207-210
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• 2014

The peritoneum is the most frequent site of recurrence for gastric cancer after gastrectomy, followed by the liver and lymph nodes. In contrast, metastasis to the thymus is rare. Annual surveillance with computed tomography was performed on a 67-year-old man who previously underwent a distal gastrectomy and D2 lymph node dissection for gastric cancer at Tottori University. Five years after the initial operation, an anterior mediastinal tumor was detected by computed tomography. The patient underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery to remove the tumor. Histopathology revealed adenocarcinoma cells similar to those of the gastric cancer resected 5 years previously. Thymic metastasis was considered likely based on the location of the tumor. The recognition that gastric cancer can metastasize to unusual anatomic locations, such as the thymus, can facilitate an accurate, prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment.